The commander of a racing shell. Usually under 5'5" and weighs no more than 100 pounds. May either sit at the bow or stern of the shell. Uses a microphone tool called a cox box or coxwains box. It is basically a headset microphone that is plugged into the shells speaker system with a guage for stroke rate on it. The coxwain or cox rarely uses the command stroke. Instead he/she uses these commands:

1.On the Ready! - command given to rowers telling them to prepare to row.

2.Ready...ROW! - command given for rowers to row.

3.Hold water/Hold - command given to pairs of rowers anywhere in the shell to stick the oar blade in the water and hold it there.

4.Power 10/20/30 etc. - command given to rowers to put full power into the number of strokes called.

a ridiculously small bitchy person who sits at the stern of a crew and yells commands at the top of his/her lungs into a cox box.common methods of torture are shaking the boat, ignoring them or doing the opposite of their commands, or my personal favorite, throwing them in the mud after they steal you goldfish. coxwains are very cute and cuddly, like a teddy bear.....NOT!! Mariel is like a little demon child ( but we love her) and Danny is just a little ass...Ben, well Ben is just Ben!

After the race, the coxwain stole the hingry rower's goldfish and was thrown into the mud.